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Performances Bring New Life to Atkinson Hall and Engineering Campus

San Diego, Dec. 11, 2012 -- Bouncing off walls, leaping through space, scrawling graffiti, moving through light and shadow, performers from UC San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance transformed the space in and around Richard C. Atkinson Hall into a sprawling stage.

Some of the 28 theatre and dance students inside Atkinson Hall. To watch a short video by Calit2 student photographer Keita Funakawa, click on image.

“Arts in Action: Connected” on the evenings of November 30 and December 1 showcased 28 students of Patricia Rincon and Robert Castro, who are on the theatre and dance faculty at UC San Diego.

Blustery weather – including rain on opening night – only enhanced the mysterious mood of the work. A Mayan-like ritual of dancers in front of a hooded chorus began the procession near the zen-like rock garden on the north side of the building that houses the UCSD division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). From there, performers led the audience of nearly 200 along a path through an underground tunnel, up and down stairways, across the broad plaza in front of the building, and into Atkinson Hall.

Pup tents dotting the plaza became 3D screens displaying the gestures of dancers inside. Artist Tim Hawkinson’s “Bear” sculpture, part of UC San Diego’s Stuart Collection of public art, became part of the scenic design scheme, as lighting emphasized details of the landscape and architecture.

Once inside the building dancers darted in and out of alcoves and other narrow spaces as they led their followers past walls covered with video from artist and Visual Arts chair Jordan Crandall’s “Drones at Home” project (and past the gallery@calit2 off the Atkinson Hall lobby where elements of the Drones at Home exibition remain on display through Dec. 14).

“Arts in Action: Connected” exemplified the many ways in which boundaries are blurring between science and the arts at UC San Diego. Atkinson Hall houses collaborations between artists and engineers exploring new technologies for video gaming, film production, computer music, and other rapidly evolving fields. The performances were an inspired response to the high-tech context.